Woman Commits Suicide in Travis County Jail

The Travis County Sheriff’s Department recently filed a custodial death report, with the Attorney General of Texas, regarding the death of Anya Wyne. Ms. Wyne was only 40 years of age at the time of her death. Information we provide in this post was obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone regarding Ms. Wyne’s death.

Ms. Wyne was arrested on December 17, 2019 for a family violence offense. Before law enforcement arrived at the scene, Ms. Wyne had used a knife to cut her own neck. This appears to have been a suicide attempt. Ms. Wyne was transported to a local medical facility for treatment. That treatment included staples to close her neck wound.

Ms. Wyne was then transported to the Travis County booking facility on December 17, 2019. She was placed on full suicide precautions on December 18, 2019. On December 20, 2019, someone made a decision to remove her from full suicidal precautions to “Open Psych.”

On December 21, 2019, at approximately 7:47 a.m., Ms. Wyne was placed into a one-person cell. The cell was located in the Health Services Building at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle, Texas.

The last face-to-face contact with Ms. Wyne occurred sometime between 8:00 p.m. and 8:03 p.m. on December 21, 2019. At approximately 8:32 p.m., another visual check was conducted. Ms. Wyne was found lying on her bunk, and there was significant blood in the cell. Ms. Wyne had apparently reopened her neck wound. Ms. Wyne was pronounced deceased at 9:16 p.m. on December 21, 2019. Ms. Wyne had apparently committed suicide.

Without regard to Ms. Wyne’s situation, the United States Constitution guarantees the right of suicidal inmates to be protected from themselves. This right includes appropriate observation to prevent suicide attempts. If a person dies as a result of the suicide attempt, responsible jailers and/or counties can be liable to certain family members due to the death.

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